ShelisaB - Business and Leadership Coach

I’ve sat in more than one meeting where a team debated a decision for weeks - metrics, slide decks, internal perspectives - until someone finally asked:

“Has anyone actually talked to a customer?”

Cue crickets.

We get so good at business cases and internal alignment exercises that we forget the most obvious thing:

That customers are literally out there.

With opinions.

And experiences.

And sometimes, actual ideas.

When we support change, we encourage our clients to go outside (figuratively and sometimes literally).Talk to real humans. Ask weird questions. Observe how your product or service is actually being used.

You’ll get better answers than any spreadsheet could ever provide, and usually with fewer pivot tables.

Think of it like this:

If your customer’s voice isn’t in the room, you’re just guessing with confidence.